NePP Home Page
Welcome to the National e-Procurement Project (NePP) website. Run by local authorities on behalf of local authorities, the project aims to enable all local authorities to gain the maximum benefit from e-Procurement tools and techniques. The project is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
NePP National Conference and Exhibition 2006
6th and 7th December Russell Hotel London
Click here for event slides
Conference delegates heard Sir David Varney launch his Service Transformation report - hot off the press having been laid before Parliament just a few hours before.
Guidance
The NePP has produced quality guidance for local authorities and suppliers that is available through this website. The guidance overview sorts the guidance by topic and then by type of information (including guidelines and how to papers, case studies and templates and sample materials).
NePP Chair's statement:
A considerable amount of valuable work has now been completed by authorities who have already gone through the tough process of automating their procurement activities. But there remains a great deal of work to be done by authorities as a whole if significant savings are to be released to support important front-line services such as education and health. Meeting demanding e-Procurement targets is not just about making sure authorities have the right range of technologies in place. Above all it is about ensuring that they act as good stewards of tax payers' money by ensuring that they get the best value for the services they are providing. The Government's efficiency agenda commits authorities to a continuous programme of improvement and benefits realisation.
Implementing e-procurement solutions requires an investment and therefore authorities have to make sure they have a sound business case for any implementation now or in the future. The best way to get the interest and support of the senior management team is to demonstrate what would be different in the authority if various e-procurement technologies are implemented. To do this authorities must ascertain information about their current procurement spend and processes in order to measure the benefits that will accrue.
What Councils are finding is particularly difficult about e-Procurement is not the technologies but the change management issues and persuading people to alter their behaviour. Letting go of the paper is not as straightforward as it sounds. Whatever stage an authority is at, they should not try to do everything on their own. Collaboration is crucial. It is important to look to work with other councils and investigate the sharing of processes and the costs of technology. Equally I strongly recommend that councils work with their Regional Centres of Excellence, OGC and IDeA.
There is a whole range of realistic e-Procurement options available now for councils to make sure 2006 is a more efficient and better value year for all the citizens and communities they serve. NePP will continue to support the work of the Regional Centres of Excellence and individual councils by developing new guidance in areas such as multi-agency procurement and marketplace interoperability, and continue to provide high quality, hands-on support at a local level.
Colin Whitehouse
NePP Chair
January 2006
National e-Procurement Project Migration to the London Borough of Newham On the 18th October
On 18 October 2005 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) announced the migration of the National e-Procurement Project to its permanent local authority home, the London Borough of Newham.
The announcement of the successful migration of three National Projects (including e-Pay to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and e-Democracy to North Lincolnshire Council) indicates further good progress in the Government's drive to secure the long-term rollout of products under the National Projects.
Announcing the successful migrations, minister for local e-government, Jim Fitzpatrick, said: “The local e-government National Projects Programme has been a major catalyst for innovation and transformation in local government. The commitment of local authorities to developing and promoting the products of the National Projects ensures that others will continue to benefit from the improvements in services and efficiencies these products deliver."
The NePP will continue to deliver support and guidance for councils implementing e-procurement solution
Both the NePP and the ODPM accept that some suppliers have objections to the use of e-procurement technologies on religious and other moral grounds. Neither the NePP nor the ODPM advocate the exclusion of suppliers who, on religious or moral grounds, refuse to use electronic procurement methods. Therefore, local authorities using such suppliers should ensure they provide alternate (non-digital) methods to enable these suppliers to continue to trade with the council.